New Double Degree Postgraduate Programme in History
HSE University in St. Petersburg and University of Turin have signed an agreement for a new Double Degree PhD programme in History.
Head of the Department of History, Professor Alexander Semyonov, and coordinator of the PhD programme, Associate Professor Tatyana Borisova, shared the details.
Our universities are united by the active desire to internationalize our educational programmes and research activities. Both universities have their own areas of excellence and this enables us to combine our strengths and enhance international postgraduate education overall.
Transatlantic research, research on South and North America, and research on Iberian empires are developing dynamically at the University of Turin. At HSE University in St. Petersburg, the history of Russian-German cultural ties, the history of empires, and nationalism in Eurasia are among the key areas of expertise. It is important to note that this programme is one of the first joint international programmes for postgraduate education in Russia.
Prerequisites
In modern historical studies, areas such as comparative historical research, global history, and entangled history (histoire croisée) are key foci.
Until recently, historians had been working exclusively within the framework of national historiography, and rarely carried out comparative projects. Co-authorship and the involvement of colleagues who are engaged in other regions and other cultures are essential for such work.
Cooperation with the University of Turin means means that we can explore interrelations, historical transfers and mutual influence, relying on the language resources and expertise of the two departments of history. History at University of Turin is represented by the Faculty of Culture, Society and Economics, and by the Faculty of History. This enables us to provide our postgraduate students with training that would not be possible within a single department.
About the programme
In 2012, when the very first admission to the Bachelor's programme in History took place, we thought about the direction in which postgraduate studies would develop. The mission of the programme is to understand the systematic development of research in the history of diversity of historical formations (which we call empires) and the interactions between them.
Several areas of activity, which will enable postgraduate students to develop their research and write scientific articles, are being implemented as part of the Double Degree PhD programme. Every student who participates in the programme will have two supervisors: one from HSE University in St. Petersburg and the other from the University of Turin. Students need to report on their research at the seminars and summer schools organized by our partner universities. An important aspect of the programme is that it is very interdisciplinary, which is due to the fact that the programme is implemented by several schools.
What opportunities does the new programme provide?
The programme will open for applications in July 2018. More information can be found on the webpage of the joint programme.
Alexander Semyonov